FORT MYERS, Fla. - Bartolo Colon rolled into Red Sox camp yesterday in a maroon Mercedes at 5 minutes past noon. Lunch time, one observer noted, which, judging by appearances, is one of Colon's favorite times of day.
The former Cy Young Award winner, who agreed to a minor league deal with the Sox, arrived too late to participate in yesterday's workout, having driven from the other side of the state. He did, however, play long toss with pitching coach John Farrell.
Farrell was impressed with Colon's arm strength, especially since the righthander hadn't done any throwing since an appearance in the Caribbean Series three weeks earlier. Colon was throwing the ball 120 feet on a straight line, seemingly with little effort. That's encouraging, given the shoulder and elbow problems that limited him to seven wins in the last two years.
But Colon, who has always pitched big, could not conceal under his red warm-up that his girth has reached, and perhaps eclipsed, Guapo-like dimensions. It's not known whether the Sox proposed any weight clauses to Colon.
"We've got some work to get him right," said Farrell, who once was Colon's teammate in Cleveland. "I don't know the exact number of pounds to be lost here. I think there is some self-acknowledgement on his part that he's overweight at this time and we have to arrive at a playing weight he's accustomed to."
There is virtually no chance of Colon breaking camp with the club when it departs for Japan March 19. Colon is not only far behind the other pitchers in their throwing program, he has to get in playing shape, and that will take time. Farrell said Colon is prepared for the possibility of being left behind in Florida.
Colon did not address the media yesterday; team publicist John Blake said he intends to do so this afternoon.
Cy praise
David Ortiz, after batting against rookie Clay Buchholz yesterday: "He will be a Cy Young Award winner one of these days. You don't see the ball. He hides it well. All his pitches come down from the same place, the same angle." . . . Morley Safer and a "60 Minutes" crew were in camp doing a profile of statistical analyst Bill James. Safer wore a Sox cap . . . Dustin Pedroia, challenged by a Coors Field security guard during the World Series, had a similar experience Monday at City of Palms Park, where he was filming a tire commercial. Pedroia was not recognized by a park employee who was conducting tours and admonished him to stay off the field. The employee finally figured out who he was dealing with . . . Any Sox player who appeared in a game last season is invited to today's trip to the White House, according to Blake. It remains to be seen if they all will go. As they did after winning the Series in 2004, the Sox also plan to visit Walter Reed Army Medical Center to visit wounded veterans. "You're looking at kids who have lost limbs," manager Terry Francona said, recalling the previous visit. "It was humbling. It was an honor to be there. I didn't hear one [player] say, 'Hey, let's [leave].' Everybody wanted to stay and talk. I've heard a lot of the veteran guys telling the younger guys, 'Hey, this is what you'll remember about this trip.' "Greeting cards
Francona listed his starting lineups for the first two exhibition games tomorrow. Against Boston College (1:05 p.m.), it will be Jacoby Ellsbury, cf; Pedroia, 2b; Ortiz, DH; Mike Lowell, 3b; Jason Varitek, c; Kevin Youkilis, 1b; Julio Lugo, ss; Bobby Kielty, rf, Brandon Moss, lf. Against Northeastern (6:05): Coco Crisp, cf; Alex Cora, 2b; J.D. Drew, rf; Manny Ramírez, DH; Sean Casey, 1b; Chris Carter, lf; Doug Mirabelli, c; Jed Lowrie, ss; Keith Ginter, 3b.Gordon Edes can be reached at edes@globe.com.
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